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Trojans looking to keep streak alive

gil pound, the union-recorder, milledgeville, ga.
·5 min read

Jul. 18—It's hard to talk about this year's John Milledge Academy football team without mentioning what the last few have done as well.

The program headed up by alum JT Wall owns a Georgia high school football record 50-game winning streak and has won the last four GIAA/GISA Class AAA state championships. The Trojans will carry those impressive accomplishments into the 2023 season that kicks off one month from today. Roster turnover at quarterback and the entire offensive front pose challenges, but its nothing Wall and his staff haven't seen before in his 13 years at the helm.

Here's a look at John Milledge's 2023 slate of opponents, one that carried a cumulative 66-53 record last year, good for a combined .555 win percentage.

The season kicks off Aug. 18 against a familiar foe, the second-most familiar the Trojans have faced in the program's history, In fact. Brentwood School will visit Milledgeville to open play in what will be the 50th meeting between the schools all time. The only opponent JMA has faced more on the football field is Gatewood, though the upcoming contest against the War Eagles of Sandersville will bring those two series to a tie. John Milledge leads Brentwood 33-15-1 head-to-head and has not lost to the War Eagles since 2013. Brentwood last season went 9-4, including a 42-7 home loss to JMA in the 2022 opener and a GIAA AA state runner-up finish to Central Fellowship.

Week 2 brings an intriguing matchup in the Trojans' second year competing in the Southeastern Commission of Independent Schools (SECIS) Kickoff Classic. They beat Mississippi's Lamar School 48-7 in the event last year. This time around it will be a clash of champions as John Milledge is set to square off against Canton Academy, also of Mississippi. Located north of Jackson in the central portion of the state, the Canton Panthers went 12-1 last year on their way to a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA state title. A lot of their results from 2022 resemble those of the Trojans' with lopsided final scores. The two champs will do battle Saturday, Aug. 26 as Columbus' Brookstone Academy will play host to the first-ever meeting.

JMA is off the following week before returning to action Sept. 8 at George Walton Academy. In their first year back in the private-school-only league, the Bulldogs went 6-6, including a 48-0 loss at JMA. It was the Trojans' first win over GWA since the year 2000. The 'Dogs had won the last six times the teams met.

A second long road trip awaits Wall and his boys Sept. 15 when they go to Frederica Academy on St. Simons Island. The Knights went 4-6 last season but won their region with a 3-0 run past Bulloch, Pinewood and St. Andrew's before a playoff exit against eventual state runner-up Deerfield-Windsor. That came after a 63-13 loss at John Milledge, who leads the head-to-head series 4-1. The Trojans and Knights have met in the state finals twice — 2018 and 2020 — with each team having won once, but JMA has won the last three matchups handily.

Brookwood of Thomasville (8-4 last year) comes to town the following week on Sept. 22. The Warriors gave the Trojans a game last year until late in the first half, but JMA ran away to win 56-19. John Milledge hopes the series trend doesn't hold when the teams meet midseason. Brookwood won the first three times the programs met in the mid-'80s and in 1992. The Trojans rallied back to take the last three to bring the series to a 3-3 tie.

It's to Pinewood Sept. 29 where John Milledge football has not lost since 2014. Wall's team has also not lost to the Patriots period since that '14 state semifinal loss. The Trojans have taken the last nine bouts, including the 2021 state championship and last year's 55-0 beatdown that occurred on a Monday evening due to the threat of a hurricane the week prior.

The Trojans get their second off-week Oct. 6 before opening region/district play against the Macon schools. Remember that region play does not determine playoff seeding for GIAA sports. The MaxPreps power rankings handle that duty. All of John Milledge's region foes will move up to 4A come state playoff time.

First up out of the four Macon schools is on Friday, Oct. 13, against Stratford, the team that gave JMA its second-closest game last year at 21-7 in Macon. Stratford went on to finish 9-4 with two of those losses coming to Class 4A state champ St. Anne-Pacelli, one in the regular season and the other a 10-0 final in the state championship. The Eagles come to Milledgeville this season.

Thanks to John Milledge football's recent run of success, there aren't many opponents the Trojans have losing records against all-time. One awaits on Oct. 20 in the First Presbyterian Day (FPD) Vikings who own a 16-3 mark versus JMA. The most recent time out though, was a blowout in the Trojans' favor as they won 56-7 at home last year to snap a seven-game losing skid against FPD, who finished '22 at 2-9 overall. This year's meeting is in Macon.

Another 2022 2-9 foe and Macon trip is scheduled for Oct. 27. Mount de Sales will be JMA's host this time around looking to avenge a 54-7 loss last season on Log Cabin Road.

The regular season finale ought to be a good one between Trojans of different colors as John Milledge welcomes Tattnall Square Academy the first Friday in November. The two teams gave fans a heavyweight bout in Macon last year with JMA winning 28-21 thanks to a game-sealing interception as Tattnall was driving hoping to tie late. Tattnall Square finished 7-5 overall, losing to Stratford 55-28 in the 4A semifinals.

From there, it's likely on to the Class AAA state playoffs where Wall's boys will look to defend their status as one of the top private school football programs in the entire state. Can they do it? Will anyone in AAA step up to challenge them? Only time will tell.